You’ve spent dozens of hours collecting moons, jumping over colorful hills, and possessing everything from a T-Rex to a manhole cover. You think you’re good at this game. Then you hit 500 Power Moons and unlock the Mario Odyssey Darker Side. It’s a reality check. Honestly, the jump in difficulty between the "Dark Side" and the "Darker Side" is less like a step and more like a vertical cliff face. There are no checkpoints. If you mess up a single dive-jump near the end of the twenty-minute gauntlet, you’re going right back to the start. It's brutal. It's frustrating. It's also probably the best level Nintendo has designed in a decade.
Most people expect a victory lap. Nintendo usually does this—think of the Grandmaster Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2 or Champion’s Road in 3D World. They give you a final, grueling test of every mechanic you’ve learned. But the Mario Odyssey Darker Side (officially titled "Culminating Journey") feels different because it forces you to master Cappy in ways the main story never required. You aren't just jumping; you are calculating vectors.
What Actually Makes the Mario Odyssey Darker Side So Hard?
It’s the lack of safety nets. In a standard kingdom, if you fall off a ledge, you lose ten coins and try again from twenty feet back. Here, the "Long Journey's End" is a marathon of distinct phases that test movement, timing, and capture abilities.
You start with a basic triple jump section over poles, which feels easy enough. Then the game throws you into a lava-filled room where you have to capture a Lava Bubble and navigate narrow paths. One wrong flick of the thumbstick and you’re toasted. The pressure builds because you know that every successful room puts more at stake. By the time you reach the Glydon section—where you have to shake the controller to maintain altitude while dodging giant swinging hammers—your palms are usually sweating. It's a psychological battle as much as a mechanical one.
The Infamous Glydon Skip and Other Strategies
If you talk to speedrunners or people who’ve spent way too much time in the Mario Odyssey Darker Side, they’ll tell you about the "Glydon Skip." It’s basically the "get out of jail free" card for the hardest part of the level. By using a specific flicking motion and managing your height, you can soar over a massive chunk of the final obstacles. Is it cheating? Maybe. Does it save your sanity? Absolutely.
But if you want to do it the "real" way, you have to deal with the Pokio section. You're a bird. You’re sticking your beak into moving walls while bombs are raining down on you. It’s chaotic. Most players die here because they rush. They see the end of the wall and they panic-flick. The secret—and this sounds cliché but it’s true—is rhythm. The Mario Odyssey Darker Side is basically a high-stakes dance. If you lose the beat, you lose the run.
Why the Reward Polarizes the Fanbase
When you finally reach the end, you climb a massive version of the Odyssey's ship. You get a Multi-Moon. You get a thank you message from the development team. And you get the Invisible Hat.
Some players hate this. They spent three hours dying to a bird-on-a-wire section just to be able to turn Mario invisible? It feels like a prank. However, from a completionist perspective, that hat is a badge of honor. It changes the way you play the rest of the game because you can no longer see where Mario is standing. It’s the ultimate "flex" in the post-game world.
Complexity in the Design
Nintendo’s designers, including director Kenta Motokura, clearly wanted to celebrate the history of the franchise here. You see elements from Donkey Kong, nods to 2D platforming, and even the "Uproot" mechanic which is criminally underused in the main kingdoms.
👉 See also: Why frustration the board game Still Makes Your Blood Boil (In a Good Way)
The level isn't just a gauntlet; it's a museum of mechanics. One minute you’re using Cappy to pull out platforms, and the next you’re timing a jump over a shockwave. It forces a "flow state." If you think too much about the fact that you’ve been playing for fifteen minutes without a save, you’ll likely mess up a basic wall jump. The game punishes overthinking.
Common Misconceptions About Getting There
A lot of people think you just need to beat the game. Nope. You need 500 Moons. That sounds like a lot, but considering there are 880 unique moons (and 999 if you buy them from shops), it’s actually just the midway point of the "true" completionist route.
- You don't need to find 500 unique moons; buying them from the shop counts toward the total.
- You don't need all the Purple Coins.
- You do need to have beaten the Broodals on the Dark Side first.
Mastering the Final Stretch
The very last part involves Mario running through a city-like environment while being chased by giant rolling boulders. It’s a callback to the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but with more hats. Then, you have to capture a spark pylon and travel through a massive wire sequence that spells out "Thank You."
It’s emotional, honestly. After the stress of the previous twenty minutes, that final spark ride feels like a victory lap. But even then, you can't relax. If you accidentally jump off the wire? Back to the start. Nintendo is cruel like that.
The Mario Odyssey Darker Side isn't just a level. It’s a final exam. It asks: "Did you really learn how to play this game, or did you just get lucky?"
Actionable Advice for Your First Run
If you’re staring at that 500-moon requirement and feeling intimidated, don't be. Use these specific tactics to survive the journey:
📖 Related: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan—Why Platinum’s Turtles Game Still Divides Fans
- Heart Management: Before entering the level, go to any shop and buy a Life-Up Heart. This gives you six health points instead of three. It is the single biggest advantage you can have.
- The Sphinx Secret: Early in the level, you’ll find the Sphinx. Answer his question correctly, and he’ll give you a Life-Up Heart if you’ve lost health. It’s a vital mid-way refill.
- Cappy Stalling: If you're falling and think you're going to miss a platform, throw Cappy and hold the button. It stalls your momentum for a fraction of a second, which is often enough to reposition for a dive.
- Practice the Pokio: Spend time in the Bowser Kingdom practicing the beak-flick jump. It’s the mechanic that kills 60% of players in the Darker Side because the timing is so specific.
- Don't Rush the Glydon: If you aren't using the skip, remember that shaking the Joy-Cons (or the Pro Controller) actually makes him flap his wings slightly, extending your glide time significantly.
The journey to the top of the final spire is meant to be exhausting. When you finally plant that flag and see the "Thank You" message, you aren't just finishing a level; you're closing a chapter on one of the greatest platformers ever made. Take your time. Breathe. And whatever you do, don't miss that last jump.